The Lock,
However, Was Speedily Forced, And At The Period Of My Arrival The
Gate Swung Idly Upon Its Hinges.
As I left the place, I thought that perhaps similar to this was the
cave of Horeb, where dwelt
Elijah, when he heard the still small
voice, after the great and strong wind which rent the mountains and
brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; the cave to the entrance
of which he went out and stood with his face wrapped in his mantle,
when he heard the voice say unto him, "What doest thou here,
Elijah?" (1 Kings xix. 11-13.)
And what am I doing here, I inquired of myself as, vexed at my
detention, I descended into the town.
That afternoon I dined in the company of a young American, a native
of South Carolina. I had frequently seen him before, as he had
been staying for some time at the inn previous to my arrival at
Gibraltar. His appearance was remarkable: he was low of stature,
and exceedingly slightly made; his features were pale but very well
formed; he had a magnificent head of crispy black hair, and as
superb a pair of whiskers of the same colour as I ever beheld. He
wore a white hat, with broad brim and particularly shallow crown,
and was dressed in a light yellow gingham frock striped with black,
and ample trousers of calico, in a word, his appearance was
altogether queer and singular. On my return from my ramble to the
cave, I found that he had himself just descended from the mountain,
having since a very early hour been absent exploring its wonders.
A man of the rock asked him how he liked the excavations. "Liked
them," said he; "you might just as well ask a person who has just
seen the Niagara Falls how he liked them - like is not the word,
mister." The heat was suffocating, as it almost invariably is in
the town of Gibraltar, where rarely a breath of air is to be felt,
as it is sheltered from all winds. This led another individual to
inquire of him whether he did not think it exceedingly hot? "Hot,
sir," he replied, "not at all: fine cotton gathering weather as a
man could wish for. We couldn't beat it in South Carolina, sir."
"You live in South Carolina, sir - I hope, sir, you are not a slave
proprietor," said the short fat Jewish personage in the snuff-
coloured coat, who had offered me the bitters on a previous
occasion; "it is a terrible thing to make slaves of poor people,
simply because they happen to be black; don't you think so, sir?"
"Think so, sir - no, sir, I don't think so - I glory in being a slave
proprietor; have four hundred black niggers on my estate - own
estate, sir, near Charleston - flog half a dozen of them before
breakfast, merely for exercise. Niggers only made to be flogged,
sir: try to escape sometimes; set the blood-hounds in their trail,
catch them in a twinkling; used to hang themselves formerly: the
niggers thought that a sure way to return to their own country and
get clear of me: soon put a stop to that: told them that if any
more hanged themselves I'd hang myself too, follow close behind
them, and flog them in their own country ten times worse than in
mine. What do you think of that, friend?" It was easy to perceive
that there was more of fun than malice in this eccentric little
fellow, for his large grey eyes were sparkling with good humour
whilst he poured out these wild things. He was exceedingly free of
his money; and a dirty Irish woman, a soldier's wife, having
entered with a basketful of small boxes and trinkets, made of
portions of the rock of Gibraltar, he purchased the greatest part
of her ware, giving her for every article the price (by no means
inconsiderable) which she demanded. He had glanced at me several
times, and at last I saw him stoop down and whisper something to
the Jew, who replied in an undertone, though with considerable
earnestness "O dear no, sir; perfectly mistaken, sir: is no
American, sir:- from Salamanca, sir; the gentleman is a Salamancan
Spaniard." The waiter at length informed us that he had laid the
table, and that perhaps it would be agreeable to us to dine
together: we instantly assented. I found my new acquaintance in
many respects a most agreeable companion: he soon told me his
history. He was a planter, and, from what he hinted, just come to
his property. He was part owner of a large vessel which traded
between Charleston and Gibraltar, and the yellow fever having just
broken out at the former place, he had determined to take a trip
(his first) to Europe in this ship; having, as he said, already
visited every state in the Union, and seen all that was to be seen
there. He described to me, in a very naive and original manner,
his sensations on passing by Tarifa, which was the first walled
town he had ever seen. I related to him the history of that place,
to which he listened with great attention. He made divers attempts
to learn from me who I was; all of which I evaded, though he seemed
fully convinced that I was an American; and amongst other things
asked me whether my father had not been American consul at Seville.
What, however, most perplexed him was my understanding Moorish and
Gaelic, which he had heard me speak respectively to the hamalos and
the Irish woman, the latter of whom, as he said, had told him that
I was a fairy man. At last he introduced the subject of religion,
and spoke with much contempt of revelation, avowing himself a
deist; he was evidently very anxious to hear my opinion, but here
again I evaded him, and contented myself with asking him, whether
he had ever read the Bible.
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